Female UFC fighter leaves robber bruised and bloodied after he tries to rob her

A thief told Polyana Viana to hand over her phone claiming that he was armed

But 26-year-old kicked and punched the man and then placed him in chokehold

The Brazilian UFC star held him until police arrived at the scene in Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro and it later emerged his 'gun' was cardboard

A female UFC fighter left a robber bruised and bloodied after he tried to rob her using a cardboard gun.

Brazilian star Polyana Viana was waiting for an Uber in Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, when the thief ordered her to hand over her phone, warning that he was armed.

But the 26-year-old lashed out, kicking and punching him before putting him in a martial arts chokehold while she waited for police to arrive.

UFC president Dana White shared a photo of the man's gruesome facial injuries after his beating. Another shows the 'weapon' was actually just a cardboard cut-out.

UFC fighter, Polyana Viana (pictured), left a robber bruised and bloodied after he tried to rob her using a cardboard gun

Polyana Viana (left), was waiting for an Uber in Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, when the man ordered her to hand over her phone, warning her he was armed. But the 26-year-old lashed out at the thief, kicking and punching him before putting him in a martial arts chokehold. His injuries are pictured, right

Another image shows the 'weapon' carried by the thief was actually a cardboard cut-out

Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief did not try to fight back

She told MMA Junkie how the man asked her for the time and then saw he was not going to leave.

'So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, "Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed".

'Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realised it was too soft.'

'He was really close to me. So I thought, "If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it". So I stood up I threw two punches and a kick.

'He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, "Now we’ll wait for the police"'.

Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief did not try to fight back.

Polyana Viana punches JJ Aldrich in the first round of their straw weight bout during UFC 227 at Staples Center in Los Angeles in August

Officers later took the man to hospital and Viana (pictured) later learned that he had only just been released over a separate crime

Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief (pictured) did not try to fight back

The fighter used a chokehold to prevent the thief from fleeing while police were on their way

Viana dished out some justice of her own in Rio de Janeiro last Saturday night, despite the man's claim that he was armed at the time.

She added: 'Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like "I just asked for the time." I said, "Asked for the time my a**," because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police.

'He said, "Call the police, then" because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.'

Officers later took the man to hospital and Viana later learned that he had only just been released over a separate crime.

The fighter has had to defend herself in Brazil before when a robber tried to take her phone in her home town of Belem.

Describing the incident, she said: 'He tried to take it from my hand, I punched him in the face, and he was scared. This time I was scared. I don’t know if it was because there were two of them.

'So I was scared, but I think he was more scared than I was, so he jumped on the motorcycle and left.